Cambridge Computer Laptop Repairs & Services Blog

I was called to an address in Cherry Hinton to resolve an issue with a Windows 7 computer that had become very slow and becoming unresponsive when using Internet Explorer to view web pages.

The first thing I noticed that, while the computer had 2GB of memory, some 0.5GB was being reserved by the graphics adaptor. After realising that there was no way of changing the reservation in the CMOS setup, the only option was to add more memory. More memory was added and the computer checked out. There were no indications that the hard drive was failing, and checking the task manager revealed that part of the font system within Windows was using a massive 50% of the processor. The font cache was deleted which helped, but checked for malware to find a virus that had hooked itself into the font system. The virus was removed and the Windows services permissions and default startup were restored.

Next was a cleanup, temporary files were removed and Windows and software updates were applied. The network was also reset which had the side effect of causing the network to stop functioning for about five minutes after the computer was switched on. Simply removing the network drivers and allowing Windows to install them on the next reboot resolved the issue.

The computer was taken back to the customer the very next day, connected up and internet and printing tested.

Called out to a home laptop owner in Milton Road today, the laptop was running extremely slowly and was very noisy too! Cleaned the insides of the laptop, and set about checking the state of the hard drive. The hard drive was indicating imminent failure so replaced it with a solid state drive which improved the speed of the laptop no end! Checked for viruses, found a few but nothing malicious and removed them. Ensured that all of the latest Windows Updates were installed and updated any other applications and software which needed it. Clean up temporary files and the laptop was good to go!